All Too Familiar
by castielsgrace
Summary: Kurt finds himself back in the mysterious place known as Wonderland, trying to find the man known as the Hatter. He remembers this place from his childhood, but that was all a dream... wasn't it? Kurt's adventures in Wonderland. T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Oh ho ho. What do we have here? Bree just wrote a Glee/Alice in Wonderland story. In the middle of the night.

Geez, I know this is a really popular and overdone theme, but I couldn't resist! It's Hatter!Blaine, guys, Hatter!Blaine! How can I resist that?

I'm trying to make this as different as I can from other Glee/Alice in Wonderland fic's I've read, as well as Alice in Wonderland itself. While I will be using the place Wonderland as well was the Character names (and somewhat persona's, but there will be a lot more of their Glee personalities in there!) from the books 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' and 'Alice Through the Looking Glass', they won't be following the story lines too much.

More information in the bottom author's note! (I promise I won't have this much stuff to say every chapter. Just this one 'cause there's a lot to explain. Sorry!)

* * *

><p><em>Kurt, come back. He's in trouble. Hatter's in trouble.<em>

Kurt woke from his dream with a start, panting still as his heart pounded in his chest. It was that person again. Well, people. There were always two of them. Two boys dressed in navy blazers with red piping. One was blonde, the other brunette, but they spoke in turn like twins. They were strange, always smiling too brightly. It was almost abnormal.

With a groan, Kurt rolled over to look at his second-hand digital clock. It was already six! He hopped out of bed and hastily got into the shower. He had to be at the restaurant by six forty-five.

"Fuck, there goes my skin care routine. What is with that stupid clock?" Kurt complained as he got out of the shower—which was already running cold—and made his way to his wardrobe. He put on the regulation black slacks, white button-down, red polyester vest and the black bow-tie before bolting from his apartment.

He ran through the doors of the restaurant with one minute to spare.

"Kurt!" The manager of the restaurant, Mr. Figgins, was standing near his office. "You're late!"

"I'm sorry, sir. But my alarm didn't go off."

"I don't care, Mr. Hummel. Tardiness is not tolerated at McKinley's Diner. Got it?"

"Yes sir, sorry." Kurt bowed his head respectfully and ran into the kitchen to get his apron and order pad.

"Boy, this is the third time this week. What the hell is up?" Mercedes, his fierce best friend, was standing near her own locker with her arms crossed. "It's not those dreams again, is it?"

"I don't get it, 'Cedes. I stopped having those dreams five years ago, and now all of the sudden they're back?" He dropped onto a nearby bucket and buried his face in his hands.

"What happened this time?" She asked, kneeling beside him and resting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"The same thing as last time. But with the two boys this time. I think they called themselves the Cheshire twins last time I was there? I don't know. But it was the same message." Kurt lifted his hands and made air quotes, deepening his voice to exaggerate the seriousness. "'K_urt, come back. He's in trouble. Hatter's in trouble.' _Exactly the same as last time."

"This… Hatter." Mercedes looked at him quizzically, "What is it about him? Why do they keep coming to _you_?"

"I…" Kurt blushed, "I was closest to the Hatter. He was nice to me, and funny."

"So he was a perv?"

"No!" He corrected quickly, "We were the same age then. Both in Middle School. And the second time, too. Both in High School. We were _all_ around the same age." Kurt thought for a moment, "Except for the blonde lady. The 'Caterpillar', as she called herself. She was older."

"I think you should go talk to someone about this, Kurt." Mercedes said as she stood. "Having dreams with imaginary friends is fine in Middle School, High School even. But you're twenty-two. It's not normal, nor is it healthy."

"I'm not insane, Mercedes."

"You're getting all worried over a dream!" She yelled before sighing. "You're loosing sleep because a character from a dream is supposedly in trouble. According to a dream. Tell me that doesn't sound strange, white boy."

"I don't know what it is. I just… I feel like it's more then that." Mercedes rolled her eyes, but luckily their first customers prevented further argument.

* * *

><p>"Hello, welcome to McKinley's, what can I get you?" Kurt tried to sound chipper as he said his spiel, looking at a blonde kid that looked a bit younger then him expectedly. He was dressed head to toe in white, which was usually a fashion catastrophe, but he pulled it off.<p>

"Just a tea to start, please." He said with a smirk that made Kurt's heartbeat quicken for reasons he couldn't understand.

"S-sure. Coming right up." Kurt ran back to the kitchen to prepare a small pot of tea.

"Is he gay?" Kurt jumped at the sound of Mercedes voice and spun around.

Kurt placed a hand over his racing heart. "Jesus, Mercedes. Please don't do that."

"Well, is he? The kid in all white?"

"I don't know. I think he dyes his hair though." Kurt frowned for a moment before the tea pot went off. The sound of the squealing pot sent him back, back to his first dream.

"_Sorry, no room." Kurt stared at the curly haired boy that looked about his age. He was dressed in the same blue blazer that the two strange boys were wearing, but his was a tail-coat. On top of his head was a rather big hat with a card sticking out that said 'In the style of 10/6' on it. He had his black-boot clad feet resting on the extremely large table that only had three occupants. _

"_There's plenty of room." Kurt protested. "There are only three people, and this table seats at _least_ twenty."_

_The boy raised his eyebrow._

"_Well aren't you rude. Whatever, I'll go somewhere else."_

"_No, don't go." The boy's velvet voice was suddenly close, right near his ear. Kurt spun around and was almost eye-level with the boy. "I'm sorry, please sit. I'm Blaine, but everyone just calls me the Mad Hatter. Or Hatter, I suppose. I have a lot of names actually-"_

"_I'll stick with Hatter, okay?" Kurt said as he sat in one of the mix-matched chairs._

"_Would you like a cup of tea?" A blonde girl asked, holding out a cup. "I'm Dormouse. But people sometimes call me Brittney. I'm not really sure why."_

_Kurt smiled at her and reached out for the cup. _

"_Don't think so, Lady Face. That's mine." A Latina girl had taken the cup from Brittney's hands and was sipping from it. _

"_And you are?"_

_She raised an eyebrow, but Brittney spoke. "She's the Hare!" The girl sounded so cheerful, it was quite cute._

"_You're going to call me Santana, Fairy. That name's for Britt to use, and Britt only."_

"_Santana, I'd kindly appreciate it if you refrained from calling our guest horrible names." Hatter said politely, giving her a very tight, but nice, smile. She was about to open her mouth to retaliate when the Hatter stood suddenly. _

"_New cup, new cup, move down, move down! New cup, new cup, move down!" He sang happily as everyone, aside from Kurt, moved down a seat. _

"_Kurt?" Someone was shaking his shoulder and snapping their fingers. "Kurt!"_

"Oh! I'm sorry. I was daydreaming." He quickly reached for the pot and placed it on the tray already holding a tea cup.

"Better get your butt in gear, boy. Figgins is already ticked at you!" Mercedes called after him as he made his way to the blonde's table.

"Here you go," Kurt put on his best smile, "Have you decided what you'd like yet?"

"A date." The blonde was blunt, to say the least, and he was still smirking up at Kurt.

"Pardon?"

"I would like a date with you, Kurt Hummel."

Kurt gasped at the use of his last name. That was _not_ on his name tag. "How did you know my name?"

"Do you not remember me, Kurt?" He asked, "You did spend oh so much time chasing me."

He stood then, placing a twenty on the table and heading for the door and leaving his tea completely untouched. He reached the door before turning back to Kurt. "If you would like to, meet me in Central Park when your shift ends. I will wait until nine tonight."

Kurt watched in shock as he left, not quite sure what to do.

* * *

><p>Kurt walked out of McKinley's at 5:45, glad his shift was finally over so he could go home. As he biked towards his little flat Kurt kept thinking about Sam's offer, and his strange way of asking.<p>

Wait… Sam? He never mentioned his name. Where did that even come from? Kurt shook his head. He was going insane, just like Mercedes thought. Great.

But what did he mean, chasing him? He'd never _met_ him before! Was it supposed to be some sort of cocky pick-up line, or was it something else? When he reached his apartment Kurt locked his bike up downstairs and headed up the four flights of stairs. He argued with himself the whole way up on if he would be going or not, deciding when he reached his door that it wouldn't do too much harm to go meet the boy, right?

He'd said that he'd wait until nine, but did that mean he'd been there since noon, or what? Kurt had to assume that was so, and decided it was now or never. He got dressed in a pair of black extremely tight skinny jeans—probably the tightest pair he owned—brown ankle boots and a blue off-the shoulder sweater that complimented his eyes. He fixed his hair nicely with just a tiny bit of hairspray before heading down to Central Park.

It wasn't until he arrived that Kurt realized he had absolutely _no_ idea where he was meeting this guy. He hadn't said, had he? Kurt replayed their conversation in his mind. No, he just said Central Park. Was he new to New York? Central Park was _huge_! There's no way they'd… oh. It dawned on Kurt then. He wasn't meeting the blonde here. That was the point. It was a crude joke.

"Hello Kurt Hummel." Kurt jumped a good two feet in the air, spinning around and reaching out to hit his attacker. His fist was stopped, though, by the blonde. "Hey, don't kill me now."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. You startled me." Kurt blushed.

"It's okay," The blonde said with a smile. "Shall we walk, Kurt?"

Kurt nodded and took the offered arm. "Oh… you know my name, but I don't seem to know yours."

The blonde was leading him away from the path, into the more garden-like areas that Kurt wasn't even sure you were supposed to go to. The blonde didn't speak up until they were quite far away from the crowds. He stopped Kurt and turned to face him with a bright smile.

"I'm Sam." He leaned forward so he was whispering, "But I'm sure _you_ remember me as the White Rabbit."

He pushed Kurt backwards suddenly, causing him to loose his footing and trip. He expected to land on his ass in front of the tree, but instead he kept falling. He watched Sam's face get farther and farther away as he fell down the seemingly endless hole that he didn't recall seeing when they were walking.

Kurt braced himself for the bottom that was sure to come soon, closing his eyes tightly. But none came. He looked around to confirm that he was indeed falling. He couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down anymore, as he had lost the light of Central Park and was simply surrounded by darkness. He felt like he should be screaming, but he couldn't bring himself to. He wasn't scared, Kurt realized.

He wasn't scared because he had been here before. He had fallen before. He'd been just fine the last two times, right? No need to worry.

But those were _dreams_, he reminded himself. This was _reality_.

But then… why was he still falling? Shouldn't the bottom have come by now? Kurt looked up, but saw nothing. When he looked down this time he saw a blue and white chequered floor. The end! He felt like he should be panicking, but he was calm. He braced himself for the pain of falling, of hitting the ground and closed his eyes again.

Suddenly, he felt the hardness of the floor beneath him. There was no shock from hitting the floor; in fact it was like he didn't fall at all. He was simply sitting there. Kurt opened his eyes slowly to find himself in a room full of doors.

A room that looked all to familiar.

* * *

><p><strong>AN (Part Duex!): **Just to be clear, Kurt had his 'dreams' of Wonderlandfor his grade 7 year, and then again for his grade 11 year. They only lasted one year each, and stopped when he was 18. Or so he thought. They're back now that he's 22, but now they're just warnings. No fun and games and tea parties.

Also. All the characters in this story, unless otherwise stated, are **_human_**. They will be called by their names as well as their 'nick names', which are their Alice in Wonderland character counterparts. But they are most definitely human. The nick names are part of the game, 'kay?

In this chapter we have both Jeff _and_ Nick playing the Cheshire Cat. I thought they'd be mischievous enough together to pull it off. They're co-dependent! :P

We also have our lovely Blaine Anderson as the Hatter, Brittney as the Dormouse, Santana as the Hare and Sam as the White Rabbit.

More to come, if you want to see it. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Kurt looked around at the doors, trying to find the smallest of them all just like the previous dreams. He'd decided to treat this as one of the dreams. It was too impossible for it to be anything else. He spotted the door and made his way over, leaning down and gently trying to turn the knob—of course to no prevail. He turned around knowing that there would be a glass table with a bottle and a key. Sure enough, there it was. He made sure to grab the gold key first before taking a drink from the bottle. He felt the familiar tug in his stomach as he shrunk.

Kurt groaned when he remembered that his clothes wouldn't shrink with him. He was going to have to cut up his _favorite sweater._ He got to work quickly, trying not to think about the fact that he was cutting up _Alexander McQueen_. He took material from the hem of his sweater before pushing the rest of the material towards the door. He hoped to go back to his full size once he got to the other side. Once finished he was wearing a long sweater and a legging-type material that he made from his boxer-shorts.

He held the key tightly in his hand and made his way over the door. He held his breath as he pushed the door forward.

On the other side was a garden. Kurt was the inconveniently the size of an ant, and the flowers towered above him. He pushed his clothes through the door hastily before making his way through the blades of grass and coming to a clearing of mushrooms. He looked up to see the familiar cloud of smoke. He climbed up the mushroom staircase to reach a lady dressed in a red track-suit. She was currently smoking a bong and yelling at a patch of talking flowers.

"Pathetic, you're all pathetic!" She screeched, "Honestly, could you suck any more?"

"Excuse me?" Kurt asked hesitantly.

"What?" She yelled, turning to face him and looking ready to yell… until she saw him. "Porcelain?"

"Um, Kurt actually." He frowned at the name. His fair skin was one of his biggest insecurities. "Look, I was just wondering if you knew anyway for me to get… well, big again."

"Look, Tickle-Me-Doe-Face, I really don't want to talk with you about your troubles when it comes to the bedroom. If you can't get it up, you should probably go see a doctor, okay?"

Kurt sputtered at the woman, blushing and opening and closing his mouth. "That's not—I mean I want to be back to my proper _height_. I'm currently, what, two inches tall?"

"Oh, well. You've been here before; you should know what to do." She responded, blowing a ring of smoke his way.

"Is there any way that I could… wake myself up?" He asked after a minute.

"Wake up? You look pretty awake to me."

"This is a dream," Kurt pointed out, "You're not real. You're the lady from my dreams as a _child_."

"Do you honestly believe you're dreaming, Porcelain?" She asked seriously.

"But Ms. Sylvester I don't see how it could _possibly_ be real."

"What happened to the carefree boy that was here before?" She asked with a sigh, "You've lost your muchness, Porcelain."

"No, I grew up. There's a difference." He frowned at her and grabbed two pieces of mushroom before climbing back down the steps. When he reached the bottom, Kurt placed the piece in his left hand. He took a couple bites and felt the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach again. Kurt blushed at his nakedness and quickly made his way back to his clothes, pulling on his jeans, sweater and boots quickly.

He really wished he'd just wake up already. When he turned back around he let out a scream. The two boys from the dream were standing right in front of him now. Both of them had their heads tilted to the right and were staring at him curiously.

"Is that…?" The blonde one—Jeff was he called?—started.

"I think it is." The brunette—Nick, Kurt was pretty sure—said thoughtfully.

They both took a step forward, moving together in a way that was almost creepy. When they spoke, they spoke in complete unison. "Hello, Kurtsie. Welcome back."

"I…" Kurt trailed off, eyes darting between the two nervously. "Why am I here?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Jeff asked, circling around so he was standing behind him.

"Well… the dream?"

"What dream?" Nick asked. He was smiling—more like smirking—in a way that made it clear he knew _exactly_ what dream Kurt was talking about.

Kurt crossed his arms and cocked a hip out, pulling his 'diva pose' from middle school. "You guys said that Hatter was in trouble."

"Ah, he is indeed." Jeff whispered into his ear. "I'm afraid to say that the Red Queen's got him."

"The Red Queen?" Kurt asked, "But she was gone last time I was here."

"Oh, c'mon Kurtsie," Nick spoke this time, "You know her. She refuses to give up."

"Well I know Hatter. And I know for a _fact_ that he wouldn't let himself be captured."

"Well there was this party, you see," Jeff started, "And Hatter had a bit too much to drink. He was led astray by the Queen and taken to the castle."

"It was a sight to see, that one." Nick snickered, "He does not hold alcohol well at all."

"And I suppose you two are too mentally unstable to save him yourselves?" Kurt asked. "You know, I was doing fine. I had a… well, my job is shit, but that's not the point. I'm living in New York, like I've always wanted to, and I'm studying at _Julliard! _Why couldn't you just… leave me alone?"

"You're the only one who can save him, Kurt."

"It's written in the prophecy." Kurt's first reaction was to laugh, but the look on the boys' faces were serious; more serious than he'd ever seen them.

"What am I supposed to do?" He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, "The last time I was here was in a dream—assuming I'm not dreaming now, that is—and I only remember bits and pieces of it. I don't even know where to start."

"You may be the only one who can save him, but that doesn't mean you're not allowed help." Jeff and Nick still looked serious, and Kurt realized that it was quite an unnerving look for them.

"All you have to do is ask."

* * *

><p>Kurt followed Jeff and Nick through the gardens, looking left and right at the strange things he was just starting to remember. He didn't know where they were taking him, and all they had said was that there were people who could help him.<p>

After a while they reached the long table where Kurt first met the Hatter. He smiled brightly, temporarily forgetting that the mysterious man wouldn't be there waiting eagerly for him like last time. His face fell when he instead found just Brittney and Santana. They both looked up when Kurt reached the table. There was a moment where the three just stared at one another, and then Brittney broke into a bright smile and leaped over the table and into his arms.

"Kurt!" She exclaimed, happily burying her face in his neck.

"H-hey Britt."

The blonde let go of him and turned back to the Latina at the table. "I told you he'd come 'Tana! I _knew_ he would save Hatter."

Santana smiled sweetly at Britt, "I guess you were right." She playfully tapped her nose before turning to Kurt and looking much more… menacing.

"Lady face," She acknowledged with a nod.

"Hello _hare._" Santana scowled at his use of her nickname. Kurt simply smiled sweetly at her.

Jeff stepped between them with Nick, "Okay, okay. Let's not start a fight. We're on the same side, guys, and we need all the people we can get."

"What are you talking about Tweedle Dum?" She sneered.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Santana, we're the _Cheshire Twins_, not the Tweedles. Those bimbos are idiots."

"Honestly, you've known us for 22 years; you'd think you'd get it right by now."

"Sorry, I keep getting you two messed up with your slightly less stupid cousins."

Jeff and Nick gaped at her, and both of them looked ready to lunge at her so Kurt stepped in.

"Alright, moving on." He turned to Santana and Britt, "I need your guys' help."

Santana was still frowning at the pair over his shoulder, "With what?"

"I'm here to save Hatter, but I'm going to need your help. _All of your_ _help._" He added, looking at the other three. Brittney smiled at him and nodded, but the glaring contest between the cats and the hare still seemed to be under way.

"Why do you even care that he's gone, fairy?" Santana turned her glare onto him, "You still believe this is all a dream; that they were all just dreams."

"Look, I don't know what they were any more," Kurt told her with an exasperated sigh, "But I do know that the Hatter was _always_ nice to me. He was my best friend while I was here, and I don't even want to think about the wretched things that bitch of a Queen could be doing to him right now."

Santana smiled just the tiniest bit. "Oh, I see _someone's _grown a potty mouth."

"I'm 22; I think I'm allowed to swear when I'm angry."

She put her hands up defensively, "Hey, not judging. I like it. You were really boring and innocent before."

"Can we get to the point, guys?" Jeff and Nick asked.

"Right, well first off we need to get you into the castle." She looked him over, "You've changed quite a bit, so you might be able to go in unrecognized."

"What happens if I _am_ recognized?"

"That's where we come in. We're the distraction."

"No." Kurt said firmly, looking at Brittney, "No I'm not letting you guys risk yourselves for me."

"It's not _for _you, pretty boy, it's for Hatter."

"But Brittney-"

"Do you honestly think I'd let anyone _touch_ Britt?"

"'Tana's really good to me; she always protects me from the knave when he comes." Brittney said, happily hugging Santana's arm.

"We're the only way you're going to be able to accomplish this." Jeff said as Nick nodded in agreement.

"Fine. But I'm going to kill you if any of you get injured."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **This is down here because I'm going to talk about a few things that happened in this chapter. So I know this chapter is a lot shorter than the last one, but it's just a filler chapter before the actual stuff happens. I'm going to take a chance and say that this story is going to be _around_ ten chapters. But I also thought An Artist Who's Lost His Touch would only be three or four, so.

In this chapter we meet Sue and her Talking Flowers. In my head, these are her Cheerios. Since flowers can't exactly cheerlead, I have them as... well as a glee club. It's a bit backwards, but this _is_ a Wonderland story. I also talk about the Red Queen, any ideas to who that's going to be?

One final thing, about Kurt's outfit changes; He's been here before, remember that, so he knows that your clothes don't change size with you. He was smart and decided to make an outfit from the bottom of his sweater. (Don't ask me where he got the sewing kit. I don't actually know. Didn't think that one through. Maybe it was on the table?) His sweater, for anyone who is interested, looks like this: (remove the brakets) http:/www[.]harveynichols[.]com/womens/categories-1/designer-dresses/sweater/s370046-sweater-dress-with-button-shoulder[.]html?colour=BLUE  
>and he just took a tiny bit off the bottom. As for his jeans, they're just dark black skinnies. His boots look something like this: http:www[.]flickr[.]com/photos/14686639N02/2227895417/

More to come soon-ish. I'm off to my uncle's wedding for, like, four days but I'm bringing a writing book with me.


	3. Chapter 3

Kurt followed blindly after Jeff, Nick and Santana. Britt was walking with him and holding his hand tightly.

"I really missed you, Kurtsie," She pointed out, "Even though I'm sure they'd all lie and say they didn't, I know that everyone else missed you, too."

Kurt smiled at her and tightened his grip on her hand. "I missed you guys, as well."

"Then why did you stop coming? Hatter waited for you _every day_. Why did you leave us?"

Kurt felt his heart break at the pleading tone in Brittney's voice. He'd never heard anyone sound so sad… or so childlike then she did in that moment. "I'm sorry, Britt. I just… everyone has to grow up, right? When we reach a certain age you have to forget your imaginary friends."

Brittney stopped dead, causing his arm to be pulled back. He noticed that the three in front of them had stopped too. Jeff and Nick hung their heads and their shoulders fell; even Santana looked upset. Kurt realized that that was _not_ the right thing to say to her.

"But we're not imaginary, right Santana?"

The Latina turned around and smiled softly at Brittney. She took two large strides and pulled the girl into her arms, rubbing soothing circles on her arm. "No sweetie, you're not." She whispered, though she was glaring at Kurt the whole time. "Nice one, Lady Face."

"You just can't accept us anymore, can you?" Jeff said quietly. He and Nick still had their backs to him.

"I don't know _how_ to. When I was little… it was dreams. Or I thought it was… or… I don't know!" Kurt sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know how this… how you guys—how _Blaine_ could be real."

"Well we are." Nick said sadly.

"And the only way this is going to work is if you _believe_ that." Jeff said.

"Look, I _want_ all of this to be real. You don't know how badly I longed to come here when I was little. You don't know how much I _love_ you all. I don't have anyone in my "real" life. Well, I've got Mercedes but… When I was little I was _happy_ when I was here. I didn't feel like a freak because I'm gay. You guys accepted me without question and it's just… too good to be true. I don't know how such wonderful people can even exist." Kurt wrapped his arms around his waist and hung his head. "I'm not used to being liked or accepted; this just seems like the ideal place for me to make up."

Suddenly, he was being hugged by Brittney. "Kurtsie we are real. We accept you and we love you because you're our _friend_."

"I'm sorry." Kurt whispered while trying to hold back his tears. "I'm sorry, I must seem so pathetic."

Jeff and Nick walked over and pulled him into their arms. "You're not. You're just... confused."

"Lets keep walking, okay? We need to get to the castle before dark if our plan is going to work." Santana was trying to look menacing, but she had the faintest hint of a smile on her lips, and her eyes were soft.

Kurt nodded and grabbed Brittney's hand again as they started back up on their path like nothing had happened.

* * *

><p>"It hasn't changed." Kurt observed when they reached the moat of the castle, the outer wall blocking their view of the gardens that Kurt knew were there. The castle itself towered over them, its dark shadow adding to the already tense air.<p>

"Are the flowers still being painted red?" Kurt asked out of no where. Jeff and Nick snorted and Santana rolled her eyes.

"That issue was resolved. No more gardeners made that mistake, though it didn't stop them from getting their heads hacked off."

Kurt shuttered at the thought. He remembered how vicious the Queen was to her subjects, and then there was her poor fiancé. He was a bit thick to say the least. Obviously clueless to what was _truly_ going on. Kurt still suspected the Queen had some sort of spell over him, the way he drooled over her and followed her every wish. How the Red Queen and the White Queen came from the same family would always be a mystery to Kurt. Wait, the White Queen!

"What happened to Rachel?" Kurt asked as they set up camp in the trees to wait for it to get dark.

Jeff and Nick's faces fell and Britt looked like she was on the verge of tears. It was Santana who finally answered. Her voice was like venom, with the amount of hatred she put in it. "She was foolish and fell for the Knave. He was working for the Red Queen still and led the poor girl on. They've trapped her in the Barren Lands."

"Why would she trust Jesse?" Kurt shook his head glumly. "We have to help her. As soon as we find Hatter we have to get her back. No one will be happy until it's the _White_ Queen on the thrown again."

"Remember when we were friends with Quinny, 'Tana?" Brittney asked out of no where.

"Yeah, Britt. I do. Back when she thought she was _with child_." Santana snorted, "What a pathetic attempt at gaining sympathy. Too bad her stomach never grew."

"Wait… what?"

"Oh, that was while you were gone Kurtsie." Jeff said simply.

"Poor Finn though." Nick said with a shrug.

"He deserves so much better than her."

"Yeah, she's a cheating bitch."

Kurt was a bit shocked to hear Jeff and Nick talking so rudely about someone, even if that someone deserved every word of it. He continued to listen silently to their conversation as he followed them along; just trying to catch up on everything he'd missed. Apparently Quinn had cheated on Finn with someone named Puck, who was dating Rachel who cheated on him with Finn. Kurt felt like he was back in high school.

"Guys? Hate to interrupt this little… nostalgia trip, but we really need to get going. We have to find Blaine, get him out of the castle, get to Rachel, save her and somehow get rid of the Queen Bitch."

"For once, I agree with fairy." Santana said with a grimace. "But how do you plan on getting in? Even if you do look different enough that they wont recognize you, you can't just waltz in."

"I… er…" Kurt realized that he had no idea what he was going to do, and that frightened him. He was so used to his scheduled, normal, uneventful and completely unsurprising life in New York. Not knowing what was lurking around the corner was frightening, and not knowing if Blaine would be okay… Kurt's heart clenched painfully at the simple thought of loosing him.

"Well, we could…" Jeff trailed off, obviously unsure as well.

They sat in silence for a good five minutes before Brittney spoke up. "Why doesn't he just go down to a small size again? Then he can crawl under one of the holes in the wall. We can throw his clothes and a piece of mushroom over for when he gets to the other side."

Everyone stared at Brittney for a minute, shocked at the girl's suggestion. The only suggestion. And it would work.

"Brittney, that's brilliant." Jeff said.

"Where did that even come from?" Nick asked.

"I'm smart. You guys just don't bother to listen to me."

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later found Kurt on the other side of the wall. Jeff, Nick, Santana and Brittney were all waiting eagerly near the gates of the castle, knowing that when I <em>did<em> find Blaine, it would end in us simply running. There would be no stealthy escapes. My plan was simply to find him and go.

Once he was dressed again and ready to go, he tried to blend in. Kurt held his head high as he walked and made sure to seem like he belonged. He nodded at the cards and noblemen he passed as if he did so everyday, and succeeded on getting into the castle before he realized he had _no_ idea where Blaine would be. Kurt assumed he was being held in the dungeons, but how did he get there? And how was he supposed to get in when he got there?

"Looking for something?" Kurt jumped at the sound of a male voice. He spun on his heals to find himself face-to-face with a mo-hawked boy.

Kurt tried to keep his voice steady and superior as he spoke, "I'm just headed to the dungeons. I have some business regarding the Hatter."

The man looked at him sceptically for a moment, and Kurt felt his heartbeat quicken. He was about to screw it all and just run when the man spoke again. "Would you like an escort, sir?"

Kurt nodded and took the arm that was offered to him. He briefly wondered who the man was, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. It didn't matter; he was being led to Blaine.

Just as they were rounding another corner, another guard appeared. Kurt recognized him immediately as one of the harsher 'cards'; Karofsky.

"Who's this, Puckerman? Got a boy toy?" He asked, barking with laughter.

"No, I'm escorting him to the dungeons. Now get out of my way Karofsky."

"This guy, the dungeons? He's too much of a girl to hurt a _fly_. What they hell'd he do to end up down there?"

"Not like that, dipshit. He's got business down there with one of the prisoners."

"Oh, got a crush does he?"

"Just fuck off, okay?" Puck said, stepping slightly in front of Kurt, "Go suck up to the Queen or something."

Karofsky grimaced, but spun on his heel and turned, Kurt let out a breath of air he didn't know he was holding. "Thank you, er…"

"Noah Puckerman."

"Thank you, Noah."

"For what?" Puck asked, and Kurt remembered that he wasn't supposed to know who that was; he wasn't supposed to have been here before.

"Just… er, for not letting him make fun of me." Kurt squeaked out, his voice getting higher as he spoke.

"No problem, Kurt."

Kurt stopped dead. "How do you know my name? I didn't tell you my name."

"You've been here before." Puck shrugged.

Kurt immediately moved into a defensive position.

"Relax; I'm not taking you to the Queen. Bitch deserves whatever comes to her." Kurt looked at him sceptically. "I'm sure you heard of the baby scare? Yeah, she blamed that shit on me. Finn nearly chopped my head off."

"Why do you continue to fight for her, then?" Kurt asked.

"Well, I'm not really helping her right now, am I?" He raised an eyebrow, obviously referring to the fact he was leading Kurt straight to Blaine, and Kurt was suddenly sure that Puck would help him get Blaine out, too.

"Plus, Blaine's not in the dungeon. The Queen knew that you'd be asked for help and moved him so that we could catch you when you inevitably came to save him."

"Wait, how did she know I'd come?"

"She knows how you feel about each other."

"Feel about each other? Blaine and I are _just friends._" Kurt sputtered, though the blush that painted his cheeks told Puck otherwise.

"Whatever, we should probably get moving."

"Y-yeah, okay."

* * *

><p>Puck led Kurt up through the castle's multiple winding staircases. After a while Kurt assumed that Blaine was being kept in one of the four towers in the castle, and by the amount of stairs they were going up it seemed to be the tallest of the four. Nothing was said between the two aside from Puck telling Kurt to stop, or go into a closet to avoid being seen.<p>

When the finally reached the top Kurt found a single blue door. Puck didn't have to tell him that this was it, he knew; he could feel it. Kurt placed a hand on the gold doorknob, but froze before he could turn it. What would he find on the other side of that door? Would it be the Blaine that he knew, or would it be some hollow shell of a person, driven insane by the amount of time he had to wait in this tower?

Kurt suddenly felt terrible about how long it took him to return. What if he was too late?

"Kurt, you need to go now." Puck whispered.

Kurt closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pushing the door open. He opened his eyes slowly and they immediately landed on Blaine, sitting on a stool near the tiny window and looking more or less the same as he was before; if not a bit more mature and handsome.

Blaine was looking at him too, and Kurt could see the emotions pass over him; from shock, to confusion, to realization and then finally disbelief. "…Kurt?"

The sound of his voice snapped Kurt out of his thoughts; he threw himself forward and into Blaine's arms. The feel of his strong arms tightening around Kurt's waist was so wonderful, so familiar that Kurt started to cry. He didn't quite understand why, but he did. He didn't cry quietly, either. He just let everything out, sobbing into Blaine's shoulder.

"Ssh, Kurt, it's okay." Blaine whispered into his ear as he stroked his hair.

"B-Blaine, I—Oh my god, I missed you so much."

"You too, Kurt. I missed you, too."

"And then everyone started… they started telling me that you were in danger and… oh god, I thought something terrible had happened and now…"

"I'm okay, I'm fine. It's okay." Blaine said, still trying to calm him, "Please don't cry, Kurt. I don't like it when you cry."

There was a cough from the doorway, and then Kurt was being pushed behind Blaine, who looked ready to fight. "No! No, Blaine, Noah helped me find you. He's good."

Blaine seemed to relax a bit, but he continued to glare. "Kurt, you guys gotta go. When word gets out you've gone to find Blaine, which knowing Karofsky it already _is_ getting out, you don't have a lot of time."

Kurt nodded and turned to Blaine, biting his lip. When Blaine held out his hand, Kurt took it gratefully. It was time to run.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Not a lot to say her this time, but if you'd like to see the sketches I did for this of what I picture the characters to look like (hatter!Blaine!), it's on my deviantART. Found here: http:/doctordonnafriends[.]deviantart[.]com


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Woo chapter 4. This chapter came a lot easier then I expected it to. I found my Almost Alice CD, though, so I've got a bunch of songs to inspire me. (Though I wish I would've found it earlier. There's a perfect song for the talking flowers to sing.)

Anyway, this is not the end. They've still got to save Rachel and whatnot. I do, however, know how it will end. Which is good. It gives me a goal.

Okay, rambling isn't good. I'll stop. But thank you to everyone who's reading, and thank you for the reviews. Especially the poem. Oh, my goodness, the poem. That was so amazing. I was in public when I got the email and I squealed so loudly. People think I'm insane, I'm sure.

* * *

><p>Almost immediately after they left Blaine's tower the guards were on them. Puck tried to hold them off, but it was no use. Six against one would only get him killed, so Kurt grabbed his hand and tugged him along. They ran as quickly as their legs would carry them, pushing over guards and noblemen all the same in their attempts at escape.<p>

"Puckerman, what the fuck are you doing!" One of the other members of the Queen's personal guard—which was pathetically named the Titans—called after them. "You're not on their team."

"Fuck you, Azimo! I'm tired of Quinn's bullshit!" Puck called over his shoulder as they rounded a corner and ran straight into Finn. Kurt swallowed nervously, worried he had been sent by Quinn to find them out. There was no doubt that a big guy like Finn could easily take over Kurt and Blaine, and with all the guards that were quickly coming it would be easy for them to hold back Puck.

"Puck, where are you going with the Hatter?" He asked, and the group of men let out a collective sigh. They had never been so grateful of the King's constant oblivious state.

"I've been asked to take him and this new prisoner down to the dungeons." Puck said, firmly grabbing Kurt and Blaine's arms. "The Queen thinks Alice has been informed of the Hatter's whereabouts, and this kid was sent to check."

Finn scrunched up his face and tilted his head to the side as he seemingly thought over the idea before shrugging. "Okay, carry on."

Puck continued to lead Blaine and Kurt forward by the forearms until Finn had turned the corner, and then they burst into a run again, Kurt and Blaine's hands intertwining automatically.

They were becoming breathless as they ran down the thousands of steps from the towers. Kurt was the worst of the three, wheezing despite his physical health. He hadn't had to run this fast or hard since high school, and with the constant fear of being caught and executed on his shoulders he could barely breathe. His grip on Blaine's hand tightened as he struggled to keep up.

"Puck!" Blaine called. The mohawked boy glanced over his shoulder.

"Kurt." Blaine said simply and Puck looked over the shorter boy's shoulder to see the brunette struggling. Puck looked around before spotting a barely-used closet. He pulled on Blaine's jacket and pushed him and Kurt inside before standing guard by the door.

"Er, Puck?" He heard Blaine ask.

"Let Kurt catch his breath for a bit." Puck explained, "I'll make sure nobody comes. Now keep your mouths shut."

"Kurt, are you okay?" Blaine asked in a hushed tone.

"Yeah… it's just… it's all so much to take in and the running on top of it all, I'm just feeling a bit breathless."

Blaine gazed at him for a moment before pulling him into another hug. He felt Kurt's arms wrap around him and hold him just as tightly.

"I missed you so much." Blaine whispered into his hair.

"I missed you too."

"I waited for you." He added, hands fisting into Kurt's shirt.

"I know." The boy's voice was even fainter than before. "I know."

"Why didn't you come back?"

"Because the more I came here the less I wanted to leave. And I always had to leave. Had to wake up."

"You still think you're dreaming." Blaine said.

There was a pause and then Kurt pulled back, his icy blue eyes staring into Blaine's hazel ones, "No. I don't think I am anymore."

"Good. I don't want to be a dream. I like being real."

"I like you being real, too."

There was a pounding on the door that made them both jump.

"Are you guys ready to go yet?" Puck called.

Kurt sighed, but said yes. He could feel Blaine's gaze on him. "What?"

"I have an idea, so you don't get tired."

Kurt raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes." Kurt said without hesitation. Blaine stood in front of him and bent forward a bit, looking over his shoulder.

"Get on."

"What?"

"I'll carry you."

Kurt shook his head, "No, Blaine I couldn't."

"C'mon Kurt, it's fine."

He bit his lip and looked at Blaine once more before getting on his back. "Are you sure I'm not too-"

"I'm fine, Kurt, don't worry."

"Okay."

"Puck, open the door!" Blaine yelled and the door opened. Puck looked at them before laughing, but he said nothing against it. Soon enough the trio was off, running down the long corridors and towards the door to the castle. If they could just make it out everything would be fine. But they had to make it out.

They had just about reached the door to the courtyard when Kurt looked out the window. "Stop!" He shrieked, digging his nails into Blaine's jacket. Both men skidded to a halt and Puck pulled his sword from his belt, eyes searching. When he saw nothing he spun on Kurt, looking completely furious.

"What!"

"Look outside, Noah!" Both Puck and Blaine looked out the window. Kurt watched as their eyes went wide.

"Shit." Puck hissed, punching the stone wall. Kurt sighed and got off Blaine when Puck started blowing on his hand.

"You are in idiot." Kurt stated, but he grabbed Puck's hand and examined it. "You're also lucky you didn't break any bones. Punching a stone wall, really?"

"Shut up, I wasn't thinking."

"_Obviously."_

"What are we supposed to do now?" Blaine asked, taking off his hat and rubbing at his curls. Out of nowhere he chucked his hat at the wall. Kurt watched at it bounced off before landing on the floor.

"Okay, both of you come here." He said, and they did. They stood in front of him and Kurt reached out to smack both of them upside the head. "Stop being stupid!"

"Ow!" They both yelled. "What was that for?"

"Getting angry is not going to get us anywhere. You needed a wake up call."

"And you couldn't just… tell us that?" Blaine asked, still rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh stop being a baby." Kurt said with a roll of his eyes before turning to Puck. "Is there any other way out of the castle? Any less known ways?"

"Well… there's a really scarcely known secret passage out of the kitchen."

"Is there any possibility of getting past the staff?"

"That depends on if you can get past the head chef or not."

"How hard it that?"

"If he likes you, it's easy. Otherwise there's no chance in hell."

Kurt sighed. Of course that would be the case. "It's our only chance."

* * *

><p>Kurt, Blaine and Puck walked into the kitchens to find them empty. The staff, Puck told them, would be on the search for them as well. But he led them to an office and knocked three times. The door opened to reveal an Asian girl dressed in a black Lolita dress and fishnet gloves. Her long, black hair had streaks of blue in it.<p>

"Puckerman?" She asked, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be looking for-" She paused when she saw Blaine and Kurt. "Oh."

"We need to talk to Mike."

"He's not going to like this, Noah. You know he tries to stay unknown."

"Please, Tina? It's important." The girl, Tina, nodded and walked into the office. A minute or so later she came back to the door and invited them in. The three walked with her to a room that was located inside the dark office, the door hidden in a bookshelf.

The small room was a lot lighter and friendly than the office, and Kurt immediately felt more comfortable. Sitting at a table set for tea time was an Asian man with short black hair. He had his feet up on the table as he watched them enter.

"What do you want, Noah?" He asked.

"We need to use the passage."

"Why?"

Puck looked at Kurt, who got the message and stepped forward. "Um, hi."

"Who're you?"

"Kurt. Kurt Hummel."

Mike's eyes widened as he sat up straight, feet dropping to the floor with a _thud_. "_Alice?_" He looked to Puck and then Blaine. "Oh my god, I thought it was a rumour. He's really back though."

"Of course he is," Puck rolled his eyes. "Blaine was in trouble, what did you expect?"

"Good point." Mike looked at Kurt; staring him up and down. "You've grown up, Alice."

"Well it has-"

"But have you given up on us?"

Kurt stared at the man in front of him. He knew he was supposed to be impressing him, but it was really starting to piss him off; getting asked that by every person he meets.

"Look, I may have thought that this was a dream when I first got here, and I thought it was a dream back then. But I _never gave up on Wonderland._ This was—_is_ my home. So no, I didn't fucking give up on you all and I am tired of being accused of doing so. If I would've given up I wouldn't have come back. Or I would've given up. _I care about this place._ I always have and I always will." Kurt huffed, "Is that a good enough answer?"

Mike smirked and stood, "You truly are Kurt Hummel. Welcome back."

"I didn't go anywhere!" Kurt said tiredly. "I've always been me."

"No, Kurt. You lost your muchness. But you've got it back now."

Kurt groaned and dropped down onto one of the chairs. "I give up with you people. You're all insane."

"Ah, but Kurt, my dear, you have to be just as mad if you can understand us. I'm afraid you're long past the point of sanity if you're still here with us."

Kurt glared at Blaine, who continued to smile sweetly at him.

"So can we use your passage?" Puck asked. Mike nodded and Kurt felt like a giant weight had been removed from his chest. Suddenly he felt as if everything would be okay. Mike walked away, leaving the three guys with Tina as he went to check that no one was coming. Kurt unconsciously held his breath, only releasing it when he felt Blaine's hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Kurt. We're going to get out." He whispered into his ear. Kurt simply nodded and bit his lip as they waited.

Mike came back into the room and nodded, gesturing for them to follow him. He led them through the kitchens to another bookshelf, which opened to another room with a single door at the very end. It was padlocked shut.

"Here," Mike said, handing Kurt a small key. "I trust you not to loose this. And good luck. I believe you're the only one who can help Wonderland now."

"Thank you, Mike." Kurt whispered before turning and following Blaine and Puck down the hall. Kurt felt his heartbeat quicken with each step. They had no idea what could be waiting on the other side of the door. There could be guards, the key could not work and this could be a trap, anything could happen. But that didn't matter, because this was their only chance. The only hope.

Kurt stepped forward and grabbed Blaine's hand, squeezing it tightly. Blaine didn't say anything; he simply squeezed back with just as much pressure. He just showed that he was there, that he would be there no matter what happened. And that was all Kurt needed right now.

They reached the door and Blaine nudged Kurt forward with one last reassuring squeeze of his hand. Kurt stepped up to the door and looked at the little gold key in his hand. He had never felt more nervous than he did at that moment. His heart was pounding against his ribcage and he could hear it drumming in his ears, blocking out all other sounds. His hands shook as he reached forward and placed the key in the lock. It fit. That had to be a good sign, right?

Kurt turned the key and heard the lock click. The door had unlocked. He could feel just a little bit of the tension in the hall lessen, though it was still there as he pushed the door opened. The light from outside blinded them for a moment before they could see.

They were outside. They were safe. There were no guards. Kurt felt his knees go weak as light headedness took over and he fell back. Blaine caught him and the last thing Kurt remembered before passing out was the man's concerned look.

But it was okay. They had made it to safety. Blaine was safe now.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Okay, so for some reason this story really enjoys being written. So yeah. That's why it's getting updated so quickly. But I apologize if out of no where the updates start to lessen out a bit, I tend to do that. But okay, yeah. This chapter's kind of... well, I don't know really. It's different.

* * *

><p>When Kurt woke up, the first thing he saw was a canopy of trees. He looked left to see Puck poking at a fire. "Blane?" He asked into the darkness.<p>

Immediately after he spoke Blaine came into his line of sight, looking relieved and a bit disheveled. His curly hair was sticking out in all directions, like he had been tugging on it, and his jacket was discarded.

"Oh, you're awake. Thank god. I thought you had left us. You've been out for _hours_ Kurt and we-"

"You." Puck interjected.

"_I _was so worried. Can we not do that again please? I would really like for you-"

"Blaine…" Kurt tried to speak, but Blaine kept talking.

"-To stay alive. And well. And you. Because we already lost you twice. You came back, but you were gone and everyone-"

"Blaine!"

"-Missed you so much and just… don't leave us, okay Kurt? Because we all need you and-"

"_Hatter!"_ Kurt shouted, and Blaine finally stopped talking.

"Sorry. I… sorry."

"It's fine. But what do you mean I've been out for hours?"

"You've been out cold since we left the castle." Puck said. "It was kind of unnerving. And boy is he annoying when he's worried."

"I am not!"

"You wouldn't shut up!" Puck sighed, before putting on a higher voice; obviously trying to imitate Blaine. "Ooh, what if Kurt doesn't wake up? What if he's gone forever this time? I never got to tell him that I-"

Blaine ran over and slapped a hand over the mohawked man's mouth. "Okay, you can shut up now." There was a pause and then Blaine squealed and jumped a foot away from Puck, holding his hand away from him like it was poisonous. "_You licked me!"_

"Keep your hands off, Hatter."

"He _licked_ me!" Blaine said to Kurt, who burst into a fit of giggles. "It's not funny, that was gross! I don't even want to _think_ about where that tongue has been."

"Watch it, hobbit."

Blaine pouted and walked away, sitting down as far away from the fire as he could and pulled his knees to his chest. Kurt couldn't help but think that he looked like a little boy who just lost his puppy.

He stood up, albeit a bit shakily, and walked over to Blaine. He crouched down next to him. "Hi."

There was a grunt in response, and Blaine still wouldn't let Kurt catch his eye.

"I'm sorry for worrying you."

He looked up now; his hazel eyes staring straight into Kurt's. "Don't apologize for something you can't control."

Kurt was taken aback by the harshness of Blaine's voice. "S-sorry." Kurt whispered before walking away. He told Puck he was going for a walk and ignored his warnings to stay near the fire.

"Smooth move." Puck said from the fire, "Now he's run off."

"Oh piss off."

"You know, your moods are really annoying."

"What moods?"

"Oh c'mon, Hatter. It's like your emotions are switches; one has to go off for another to go on. The changes are drastic and you obviously don't think before you speak."

Blaine frowned, "I didn't even realize…"

"Well Kurt did. All he was trying to do was make you feel better and instead you just snap at him. Do you not have a heart?"

"I… I was just…"

"You were just being selfish."

"I suppose I was. Shit, I messed up didn't I?" Blaine stood up and made his way over to the fire, but instead of sitting he passed back and forth, knowing on his thumb nail all the while.

"Ya think?"

"How do I fix it?" Blaine asked, stopping in front of Puck, "C'mon, you're the 'stud' of Wonderland, how do I fix it?"

Puck shrugged, "Go after him."

* * *

><p>Kurt made his way through the woods, not sure where he was going but knowing that he really, <em>really<em> didn't want to be around Blaine at that moment. Tears were stinging at his eyes, and Kurt felt pathetic. He was crying over nothing. Like a stupid child. He rubbed at his eyes angrily as he hurried his pace; trying to get as far away from the stupid Hatter as he could.

Kurt was too preoccupied with his vicious thoughts to notice the tree root that was sticking up from the ground at an awkward angle. When he got to it, his foot hooked underneath, sending him flying forward. Kurt barely caught himself on his hands, and his head still hit the hard forest ground. He let out a grunt of pain before pushing himself onto his knees.

His head was throbbing and his hands stung, but he was more worried about the dozens of sets of eyes that were now peering at him from the darkness. Kurt let out a loud scream and he distantly heard his name being called. A cat walked out of trees and Kurt screamed again at the smile on its face. The smile reached from ear-to-ear and Kurt could see every pointed tooth in the cat's mouth. He started to panic as the creature got closer, and he tried to back up only to run into a tree.

When he tried to step away from the tree his sweater caught onto the branches. Or he thought it did. When Kurt tried to pull free, the branches of the tree tightened around his biceps. Kurt screamed again. He was crying again, but this time from fear. The eyes were still watching and the cat was still approaching, but every time he tried to pull himself free the branch would dig into his arm hard enough to draw blood. Kurt was terrified.

Just when he was starting to loose hope Blaine burst through the trees that he had come through, he was panting and he was sweating. "Kurt!"

"Hatter!" Kurt exclaimed, immediately feeling safer.

"Let go of him, you stupid tree!" Blaine exclaimed as he tried to pry the branches away from Kurt, resulting in them digging deeper into his skin and another branch throwing Blaine away. The cat moved away from Kurt and started making its way to Blaine.

"Blaine!" Kurt screeched. Blaine's head snapped to the cat and his eyes went wide as he scrambled to his feet.

"_Shit._" His eyes darted around in search of something, anything, to defend himself with. He saw a stick off to his left, near Kurt's foot, but he wasn't sure if he could reach it before the cat realized. The damn creatures were smarter than they appeared.

Kurt saw Blaine's line of vision and smiled. He stretched his leg out, once again grateful for being blessed with long legs, and kicked the stick in Blaine's direction. When it landed not a foot away from Blaine's arm, Kurt let out a sound of triumph.

Blaine drove towards the stick and managed to get a good grip on it, but before he could take a hit at the cat it pounced, sinking its teeth into his left arm. Blaine let out a cry of pain, and he heard Kurt scream his name, but the serum in the cat's teeth was already sinking into his veins. Blaine knew he was running out of time.

Mustering up all the strength he could, Blaine swung at the cat and hit it in the stomach, sending it flying off his arm and into the trees on the far side of the small clearing. Blaine knew this was his only opportunity, so he ran to where Kurt was still struggling with the tree and started whacking at the branches. After a minute it gave in and Kurt fell to a heap on the ground.

"Kurt," Blaine said, grabbing at his arm. When Kurt winced Blaine dropped it and instead reached for his hand. "Kurt, we gotta go before it comes back."

Kurt nodded and Blaine started tugging him through the forest, trying to put as much distance between them and the clearing as possible. As they ran the trees reached for them, but aside from a few scratches they made it back to the campfire.

"So did you get him back, loverbo-" Puck froze when he caught sight of the pair. "Shit, what happened?"

"Dimma cat." Blaine grunted and led Kurt to the fire, immediately going to check out his arms. But his vision was already blurring, and Puck's voice sounded far away. Before he knew what was happening, Blaine found himself lying on the ground. His vision went out again and when he opened his eyes he saw Kurt's face. Blaine smiled and tried to reach for him, only to find himself unable. He felt like he should panic; he wanted to panic, but he felt too peaceful.

* * *

><p>"Blaine?" Kurt asked, shaking his shoulder, "Blaine! <em>Hatter!"<em> When there still wasn't a response, Kurt slapped him, trying to wake him up. But Blaine closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Kurt tried to shake his shoulder again, scream his name, pound on his chest, but nothing was working. Blaine wasn't opening his eyes.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and flinched, but it was only Puck. "Kurt, Kurt stop. You have to move now so I can look at him."

Kurt shook his head, "No, no I have to stay with him."

"Well can you at lease move away from his left arm so I can get a good look?"

Kurt bit his lip but nodded and moved over to Blaine's right side, grabbing his limp hand and squeezing like his life depended on it. He watched nervously as Puck examined Blaine's arm, frown growing with each passing minute. "What is it? What- what the fuck was the thing that bit him?"

"It was a Dimma cat." Puck said, closing his eyes and letting Blaine's arm fall back to the ground. He made his way over to the fire and started poking at it, adding more wood to make it brighter.

"What is that?"

"It's a 'Dark cat'. You saw its teeth, right?" Kurt nodded, "Well every single one of them is filled with venom that will kill you if it isn't treated straight away."

"Y-you can treat it, though. Right?"

"I can try." Puck bit his lip as he took in Kurt; he was sobbing and his eyes and nose were a puffy red, his hair was a mess and his sweater was torn in the arms. Puck could see blood through the tares and knew that he would have to make sure to treat them too. He searched around the woods, looking for the Ziland plant; the only plant that would help Blaine right now. He searched along the ground, grinning when he saw steaming grey goo seeping out at one spot. He was close, and that was so incredibly relieving.

Sure enough no more than ten paces later he found the plant. He looked it over and took it the bright purple stem, pink leaves and dark blue veins running along it. It was definitely the right plant.

Puck jogged back to their makeshift camp and his heart broke slightly at the sight of Kurt, ear pressed to Blaine's chest as his tears soaked the man's shirt.

"It's okay Kurt," Puck said softly as he approached, "It's alright. He's going to be okay."

Kurt gazed up at him, his blue eyes wide and shining with tears, though there was a bit of hope in them now. "Promise?"

"Yeah, I've just got to mush this up, stick it over the fire for a moment and then pour it over the wound. He'll be fine."

Kurt bit his lip and looked down at Blaine. Puck walked away to start making the solvent, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Kurt lightly touch Blaine's cheek before leaning down to press a kiss to it. Puck smiled and got to work.

In just under an hour, the solvent was ready. Puck made his way over to Blaine kneeled down next to him. He placed the bowl down and reached for the cloth that he had shredded from his uniform; placing it next to the bowl. He took one of the pieces of cloth and drenched it in the liquid. He made sure that none dripped off as he moved it over to Blaine's arm and placed it on the wound. He did the same with four more pieces before taking the last, long piece and wrapping it around Blaine's arm to hold everything in place.

"Now we just wait." He told Kurt. The boy nodded, but still held Blaine's hand tightly in his own. "I should clean your wounds too, Kurt."

His eyes never left Blaine as he responded, "No I-I'm fine."

"Kurt," Puck said more sternly, "I'm cleaning your wounds. No arguments. Blaine is going to be fine."

Kurt looked more than a bit reluctant, but he nodded once and stood up. Puck led them to the fire.

"Okay, take off your sweater."

"I… can't you clean it without me doing that?"

"No, Kurt." Puck sighed, "I'm not gay, and I'm not going to rape you."

"It's not that. I just… I'm not comfortable with doing that."

"Kurt, I don't care what you look like under your clothes. I want to treat your wound so Blaine doesn't murder me when he wakes up."

"Fine." Kurt grumbled as he took of his sweater. Puck raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I don't see why you're so self-conscious; you've got some muscle on you, kid." He saw Kurt sputter slightly, but he ignored it as he got to work on cleaning the wounds.

"I… Puck?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"What do you do if you… like someone… but you shouldn't?"

Puck raised an eyebrow, "Why shouldn't you like Blaine?"

"I don't like Blaine," Kurt said a bit too quickly. He must have realized too, as a blush spread across his cheeks. "And because, even if I don't think I'm dreaming anymore, I know I have to leave at some point."

"It's okay to be worried Kurt, but you shouldn't hide how you feel around him." Kurt smiled, amazed at how insightful that was of Puck, but his smiled faded when he continued, "It's annoying for the rest of us. We have to deal with you two being completely smitten with each other, but not doing anything about. The sexual frustration between you two is almost painful."

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"Yeah, I think I do." Kurt winced when Puck poured something over the freshly-cleaned gashes on his arm. "Ow! What was that?"

"It's so it doesn't get infected. Geez, you're such a baby."

"Oh go away."

"Nah, I think I'm good." Puck smirked, "I'm starting to like hanging around you guys."

"Oh joy."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Eek, sorry for the long period of time between updates! School is honestly really busy this year, because I have to join after school clubs so I can get scholarships and stuff next year so I can actually, like, get my Masters of Journalism Degree at the University I want to attend and stuff. So yeah. I apologize profusely for the wait, and I hope you haven't all lost hope in me.

Yes, I used an internet meme briefly in this chapter, I just couldn't resist, okay? It popped in my head and I realized I couldn't have it go any other way. Anyhoo, thank you so much for reading, favoriting, the alerts and especially the reviews! Onwards!

Also, lots and lots of swearing in this one. I would say sorry, but I'm not. Because it's the Hatter, his moods are all over the place and I think he would swear. A lot. Frequently.

* * *

><p>Blaine blearily opened his eyes against the bright sun that shone above him. He groaned and went to throw his arm across his eyes when he felt the numb throb of pain. The memories of the night before came rushing back to him, and when Blaine went to sit up and look for Kurt he saw the boy laying half on his chest, ear pressed just over his heart and sleeping peacefully.<p>

"Oh, good." Blaine jumped at Puck's voice. "I was so worried you were dead. I think Kurt would've murdered me if I woulda let you die."

"Is he okay?" Blaine asked quietly, "You fixed his arms up, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. I had to force him away from you and everything but I got it done." Puck observed as Blaine blushed and looked down at Kurt. He smiled and brought a hand up to move Kurt's fringe out of his eyes and, although Puck was worried he was going to end up have a heart attack at just how sweet the moment was, he had to admit that they were well matched. He just wished they would fess up to each other about their love.

He coughed awkwardly and adverted his gaze, "You should wake him up. We shouldn't be staying in one place too long or the suit's will get us."

Kurt looked down at the boy in his lap, shaking his shoulder gently, "Kurt, wake up." He said softly, "You need to get up."

Kurt let out a mewl as he stretched out. When his arm hit Blaine's face, he opened his eyes and let out a soft 'oh' of surprise. Blaine smiled down at him, gently pushing a strand of his hair out of his eyes.

"Mornin'," Kurt slurred as he sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"How are you feeling?"

"Wha—oh, better." Kurt rubbed at his arm, only feeling a mild throbbing instead of the painful sting that was present all of the previous night. As the memories came back to him, he looked to Blaine, grabbing his arm in his hands.

"Um, hi-"

"Are you okay?" Kurt observed his arm, seeing it was swollen. The bandages were gone and it was a dark purple color. Kurt could still see where each of the teeth pierced through Blaine's skin. "Why is this exposed?" He spun on Puckerman, "What are you doing? It's going to get infected!"

"Chill, Kurt. It's only been exposed for like an hour. It needs to breathe."

"Give me the bandages." Kurt held his hand out expectantly. When no one moved he looked at Puck.

"We… we, um. Well, we don't actually have any. I used my shirt yesterday…" Kurt glared, realizing that he was indeed shirtless. He forced himself not to notice that he was definitely fit, instead focusing on the fact that Blaine was saved only to die more painfully because Puckerman was an idiot. Kurt stood up, patting off his dirty jeans and fixing his hair absently before starting off into the woods. He heard shuffling noise and then Blaine was at his side, looking adorably rumpled.

"Where are you going?"

"To find you some bandages so you don't, I don't know, _die._" Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Kurt, I'm fine. Really. There's no need to do anything too rash now…"

"Look Britt and Santana and the Cheshire twins are waiting for me, okay?"

"Kurt, that's fine. We can go find them, but could you _at least_ wait for us?" Blaine grabbed his arm lightly and spun him around. "I don't want to loose you again."

Kurt softened, his glare subsiding as he gazed into the hazel eyes he'd… well, if he was honest with himself the eyes he'd fallen in love with. Blaine smiled, walking back to the camp to help Puck gather up the few things he had. Kurt leaned against a nearby tree, a ghost of a smile on his lips at his revelation. Out of no where a set of arms reached for him, covering his mouth before he had the chance to scream. The figure pulled Kurt through the trees and he caught a glimpse of the person's face. Kurt's eyes went wide in realization as he struggled more against the hands holding him.

"Shh, shh. Stop struggling, little Alice, it's no use." The Knave smiled… no, smirked at him as he continued to pull Kurt away. "You've created quite the riot, did you know, little Alice? The Queen's not happy with you."

Kurt struggled again as tears pooled in his eyes. He tried to bite the hand over his mouth, but only ended up getting a mouthful of leather glove. Jesse chuckled darkly. "Well, well. What should I do with you? Actually, I know just what I'm going to do with you, you useless rat."

Kurt tried to scream again as he was pulled through the woods. He wanted to call for Blaine. He wanted Blaine. With Blaine he was safe.

* * *

><p>Puck and Blaine made their way back to the woods, Puck grumbling about not getting to eat breakfast and how Kurt needed to chill. When they got to the spot where Kurt had been waiting to find him gone, Blaine's heart stopped.<p>

"What is it, man?" Puck asked.

"Kurt's gone."

"What? Naw, we probably just haven't gone far enough yet."

Blaine shook his head quickly, "No, look." He pointed to the ground it front of the tree. Two sets of footsteps, and Kurt's pin. It was obvious that there was some sort of struggle.

"Shit," Puck breathed, "Shit how does this keep happening?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Blaine threw back at him, "You- you're just a _card_. I just lost him for the umpteenth time and I am fucking _tired_ of it."

"Blaine, keep your voice down-"

"No!" Blaine shouted. "For all we know he was fucking murdered! It was _my_ job to keep him safe, and all I'm doing it fucking getting him in trouble."

"Blaine calm down." Puck said more sternly.

"No I am _not _going to fucking _calm down_!" He stomped his foot and punched the tree to his left, wincing and pulling his hand to his chest when the bark cut through his skin.

"Woah, woah, woah. What the hell's going on here?" Blaine turned around to see Santana standing, pinkies locked with Brittany, next to Puck. Jeff and nick were each peering around Puck, one on each side. "I knew you were crazy, Hatter, but what the fuck are you doing?"

"Kurt is _gone_, Santana. Someone took him." Blaine growled. "I fucking let him get into trouble _again._"

"Okay, first off, calm down. It's not the end of the world."

Blaine laughed coldly, "Yeah, to _you_. You never even fucking liked him. I…"

"You _what? _You can't even admit it to yourself because you're pathetic." She stepped closer, "If you care about him _that much_ why don't you just fucking tell him?"

"And how do you think that's going to go, Santana? 'Oh, hello Kurt. Just wanted you to know, even though you think this is a dream, I love you.'" Blaine stopped pacing, rant cutting off at the realization that, yeah, he _loves_ him. Wow.

The smallest of smiles formed on Santana's face, and Brittany had her hands clapped together and a very large, childlike smile on her face. "Took you long enough."

"Seriously, man. That was _painful_." Puck chuckled.

Blaine laughed weakly before letting out a chocked sob. "I just want to find him. I promise I'll never let him out of my sight again."

"Hare, do you think Alice went to the little cabin I saw over there?" Brittany pointed to the left, and everyone turned to look in the direction. Sure enough, if they tilted their heads to the left and squinted, they could just see a little wood cabin. Mouths agape, they looked back to Brittany. "What?"

Blaine bounded forward, pulling the girl into a tight hug and spinning her around. "Brittany you are _brilliant_ and I love you."

"Paws off," Santana said coldly, physically removing Blaine's arms. "You've got your own man."

Blaine's eyes lit up again and he turned to run towards the cabin when Puck grabbed him around the waist. "Put me down!" Blaine thrashed, trying to get free, but Puck had a strong grip. "Seriously, what the fuck?"

"_Would you just shut up and think?_" Puck shouted. "Do you really think barging in is going to help?"

"Yes, yes I do. Because right now Jesse could be…" Blaine shuddered at the thought.

"Look, how about this. I go to the front door, get it open and then make sure there's no immediate danger-"

Blaine shook his head quickly. "No, I need to be the one to make sure Kurt's okay."

"Fine. Whatever." Puck put Blaine down and he was gone before any of them could blink. The group bounded after him, trying to be quiet despite the crunching of leaves beneath their feet. By the time they reached the cabin, the door was open and a lot of shouting and swearing was coming from within. Puck sprinted up the few stairs and through the door. He didn't expect to find Blaine on top of Jesse, pinning him down and his arm raised as if he was about to punch him (though by the look of Jesse's face he'd already had a good few hits) but Kurt was holding his arm, head down and eyes closed as he clung to Blaine's arm. Puck could see the tears pouring down his face as he started to speak.

"Don't, Blaine." His voice was quiet, barely being heard over Jesse's groaning, "Don't. You're better than him."

Puck could almost see Blaine's anger die away as he let him arm drop and got off Jesse. Puck stepped forward and grabbed the man to stop him from getting away as he let the two boys talk. Blaine had pulled Kurt into an embrace and was lightly stroking his hair and placing light kisses on his face. When he spoke, his voice was quiet.

"Kurt, it's okay. We're here; I'm here. And I'm never going to let anyone hurt you ever again, okay?" Blaine squeezed his eyes shut, resting his forehead on Kurt's, "I'm so, so sorry I let it happen in the first place. But I…"

Puck's eyes went wide and he leaned forward a bit in anticipation, Britt and Santana doing the same in the doorway. Even Kurt had opened his eyes to look up in amazement. When Jesse groaned he slapped a hand over his mouth.

"I care about you, Kurt." Puck groaned and Santana slapped a hand to her forehead in frustration. The light in Kurt's eyes dimmed, though he still smiled.

"I care about you, too."

"I give up!" Santana shouted before storming out of the cabin shouting words in Spanish that Puck assumed to be curse words.

Britt bit her lip and tilted her head to the side, her gaze on Kurt and Blaine and her brow furrowed in obvious concentration. She stepped forward, looking down at their hands and then grabbing them and forcing them together. Puck didn't miss the silent gasp that escaped Kurt and Blaine, either.

"Um… Britt?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Now… Kiss." She said, gaze travelling between Kurt and Blaine, who went very, very red.

When Kurt spoke, his voice was a good octave higher. "Excuse me?"

Puck sighed and pushed Jesse forward, towards the door. He gently took Brittany's hand on the way, tugging her along despite her protests. Kurt watched them go, still a bit flustered from Brittany's comment. Blaine didn't feel like that, she was just being ridiculous.

Once they were safely outside, Kurt returned his gaze to Blaine. He had his forehead creased in concentration and was frowning slightly. Kurt waved a hand in front of his face, "Blaine?"

"Yeah?" He asked, blinking quickly.

"Ah, thought I lost you," Kurt joked, forcing laughter that wasn't returned.

"Kurt?"

"Yes, Blaine?"

"I…" Blaine paused, staring at him for a moment before adverting his gaze. "Never mind. It's stupid."

"Seriously, Blaine?" Kurt put his hands on his hip, cocking one to the side. "What is this, a preteen movie? Just be a man for once."

The look on Blaine's face was priceless as he sputtered. Kurt wanted to laugh, or take a picture, but he knew it wasn't the time for that. Puck had been right, this had been going on for too long now.

"Fine. Fine, I will then." Kurt raised an eyebrow at Blaine's bravado, but didn't say anything about it. "I love you, okay? I love your voice, your face, your everything. You're beautiful beyond belief, and I fell in love with you when you first came to that tea party." Blaine sighed, looking away, "You can laugh now."

A small smile crept onto Kurt's face as he stepped forward; wrapping his arms around Blaine's middle and nuzzling into his chest. Because he was taller this was a bit awkward, but he didn't care. Not with his heart ready to burst from joy. "Laugh? Why in god's name would I laugh, Blaine? I feel exactly the same about you."

Kurt let out a sigh of relief when Blaine wrapped his arms around him, too, hugging him back just as tightly. Kurt couldn't keep the smile off his face if he wanted to. He may've just about been raped, and he may be in the middle of a rescue mission that could get him, and everyone else, killed, and he may have to wake up at some point and go back to New York, but right now? Right now it was simply him and Blaine. Together, happy, and safe.


End file.
